Occidentalogy

Crescent International Monthly, Toronto, Canada, January, 2015A second-generation Muslim American scholar recounts official treatment of Muslims as “outsiders.” The book makes fascinating reading.Staff writer Ayesha Alam reviews Zareena Grewal’s new book, Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority (Hbk: $76.50, Pbk: $22.50; 410 pages; …

Speaking outside Elysée Palace in the aftermath of this week’s terror killings in France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned the violence as “an attack on civilization.” Coiffured, sun-tanned and nattily dressed, Sarkozy’s solemn words made him appear like the embodiment of civility.That’s a quaint turn in etiquette by a politician …

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says the terrorists who attacked Charlie Hebdo would never have been caught had they not made one fatal mistake: They conveniently left an ID card in their abandoned getaway car.Since when did criminals leave their identification cards in abandoned getaway cars?An ordinary citizen, taking no …

Charlie Hebdo excels in inciting hatred and dehumanizing stereotypes of MuslimsJanuary, 2015. The French so-called satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – more accurately a hate-inciting, racist rag – has published its first post-massacre edition this week, with print sales going through the roof.Which just goes to prove the hoary old showbiz …

USA holds 2.3 million prisoners, or 25 percent of the world’s prison population December 28, 2014, “Truthdig” – Prisons employ and exploit the ideal worker. Prisoners do not receive benefits or pensions. They are not paid overtime. They are forbidden to organize and strike. They must show up on time. …

Here are ten smart responses you can use when people tell you there’s no alternative to the capitalism that’s cooking the planet. Those committed to building a more just future must question the taken-for-granted “truths” that support the beliefs that capitalism is the only common-sense possibility and that there is …

Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari is the general secretary of the Ittehad-i-Tanzeemat-i-Madaris-i-Deenia — an umbrella organisation of five main bodies representing seminaries from as many different schools of thought.

Government propagandists want you to hate “conspiracy theories.” But, according to a growing body of evidence, you’d have to be crazy to obey.Two American professors, Lance DeHaven-Smith and James Tracy, have pointed out that the CIA has weaponized the terms “conspiracy theory” and “conspiracy theorist” to conceal government misdeeds. CIA …

The 24th of December 1979The Soviet occupation of AfghanistanElapsed Time: 35 years.On the 24th of December 1979, The Soviets began their invasion of Afghanistan and within two days, they had secured Kabul, deploying a special Soviet assault unit against Dar Al Aman Palace, where elements of the Afghan army loyal …

What do you call a country that glorifies wars and violence in the name of peace.One that’s been at war every year in its history against one or more adversaries. It has the highest homicide rate of all western nations and a passion for owning guns, yet the two seem …